


Whimsy

by ivanolix



Category: Battlestar Galactica (2003)
Genre: Canon - TV, Canon Compliant, Canon Het Relationship, F/M, Wordcount: 1.000-5.000
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-05-19
Updated: 2011-05-19
Packaged: 2017-10-24 12:21:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,475
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/263417
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ivanolix/pseuds/ivanolix
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He's always known her, even before he could see her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Whimsy

"Gaius. No one in Aerilon remembers that it was once the name of emperors."

"This farmer's son couldn't conquer an empire if it landed in his hands."

"He doesn't have to. There are other ways he could prove worthy of his name."

"You aren't considering..."

"Gaius. It's such an intriguing name."

"You will make him infamous."

"I will make him a servant of God."

"The child will likely not survive boyhood."

"God never said we couldn't interfere..."

The round-cheeked baby suckled at his fist while he slept, peacefully unaware of the angels watching over his cradle. The one in the pin-striped suit disappeared, but the other ran long slim fingers through the dark tousled mop of hair on the babe's head.

"Gaius... Gaius Baltar."

*

"Julius!"

The baby wailed in the burlap hammock that served as a cradle. It was hot, humid, and his restless sleep had just been disturbed.

"Julius!" Katarine Baltar shouted out the door. "The dogs are at it again and I can't waste water to shut them up!"

If Gaius' father heard, he didn't answer. With cheeks as round and red as her child, Katarine growled and returned to the kitchen. Gaius kept wailing in his hammock, but she didn't have time for a child. They might not last this summer if she didn't keep up on her work.

The dogs kept yapping.

Gaius finally sucked on his fist to calm himself, cheeks wet with sweat and frustrated tears. The hammock didn't rock him, but he managed. They all managed. Even at three months' old.

But as Katarine pounded out flatbread on her stone cutting board, an invader slipped past the dogs. Every creature on Aerilon was hit by famine and drought this year, and the coyote no less. The kitchen was dry, the mother too strong, but the baby...he was weak and plump and juicy.

The dogs were occupied. The coyote slinked across the dusty floor, slavering at the thought of fresh meat. No one noticed him. He could feed.

In a flash of red and white, the angel put a stop to it. Towering over the creature, she stood before Gaius' hammock like a pillar of steel. The wild dog cowered at the fierce look in her eyes, and turned tail to skitter out the door.

Unawares, Gaius had fallen asleep again, fist in his mouth and tear-tracks drying on his cheek. Turning softly, silently, the angel smiled down knowingly. She pushed his hammock to start it rocking, and then disappeared again.

*

His mother always told him that having a mind of your own would get you into trouble. She'd spanked him every time he'd ignored the words before. But now he couldn't find her, and he was praying to all the gods with promises that he'd take a thousand spankings if only he could be home again.

Strong Aerilon children weren't supposed to cry. Gaius was lost and so he didn't care about that. He was only four, after all.

The other children had gone home once the game was done, and hadn't cared about the fascinating rocks he'd found. He thought he could just gather some to take home and follow their trail. But he was short and they were fast. The sun set before he could find the home trail.

As he'd stood in the middle of the darkening woods, he thought maybe if he just ran he would find _someone's_ farm. But a voice in his ear, silky smooth and comforting, whispered, "Stay where you are, Gaius. God will keep you safe."

He was only four, so he didn't ask who she was, where she'd come from, how she knew his name, or which god she meant.

When his parents found him several hours later, he was curled at the base of a tree clutching his burlap sack to his chest.

"How did you know what to do?" Katarine asked in relief and surprise.

"Angel told me," Gaius murmured tiredly.

They all shook their heads and called it a miracle. The watching angel smirked, because in a way they were right. She was.

*

First day of school, and his heart was near to bursting with excitement. They had enough money to buy him a bag that wasn't worn burlap, but he'd refused. It was his burlap, and it kept him safe. An angel had touched it once.

Gaius didn't have any school books yet, but maybe the teacher would give them out today. Empty burlap bag held securely in his arms, he ran down the path until he got to town. It was dusty, and he squinted until he could barely see. The schoolhouse was just ahead. Knowledge was just _waiting_ for him.

Stomach twisting with anticipation, he was about to dart across the street when a hand stopped him. He took in a breath, about to protest, when a car wheeled around the corner and right in front of him.

Gaius' eyes were like saucers, and he turned to thank his savior.

All he saw was a flash of red in a cloud of dust.

*

"But Gaius," Sister Emmeline said, her face drawn and concerned, "don't you remember telling me on your first day of temple school how the gods sent an angel to protect you?"

"The delusions of a child," he answered, with all the smug certainty that comes with being twelve years old and madly brilliant already. "The gods don't exist, and even if they did they would hardly use such means."

The good sister twisted her hands, and Gaius smirked and walked away.

She had been watching the whole time, and wondered if now was time to reveal herself.

"Ah there you are."

She turned to see the surprising newcomer, and raised one blonde eyebrow at how out of place his pinstripe suit appeared in the temple. "You have business here?"

"Do you?" he answered, lifting his sunglasses from his eyes. "Or have you found some taste for mortality like our dear Kara?"

"Don't be ridiculous," she chided coolly. "I'm merely...preparing for the next cycle."

"Cheater." He smirked.

"Competitive," she answered with a sly smile.

When he disappeared, though, Gaius was long gone. On second thought, perhaps it was for the best. A little preparation went a long way.

*

She wore a little red dress the first time she met him. It dipped low in front and back, and the skirts barely flapped against her thighs. It would catch the eye of any human, but somehow she knew that was especially true with him.

The Six found it hard to not smile to herself when his gaze finally took her in, arrested and captivated in less than a second. The heart could be won later. All she wanted now was his lust.

Later in the mission, as he slept naked by her side, her red underthings tangled somewhere in the sheets, she couldn't resist the urge to stroke his spine. He was so warm. So vulnerable. So breakable, in more ways than one.

It made all of this easy. Gaius Baltar had no dangerous strength to combat her. He was so very...human. She liked him very much.

He stirred under her touch, rolling onto his back and blinking up at her. The Six smiled, and didn't have to think about the Plan to do so. Practice made perfect, and she was perfectly satisfied with her mission.

"Angel," Gaius murmured, only half coherently.

She blinked at that. The look in his eyes made her scan him more carefully. Surely that was not affection in his eyes already...no, no it was not. Neither was that disappointment she felt, just a slight puzzlement surely. That look. What was that look?

"I don't know why I called you that," Gaius said, brow furrowing a little. A little of the amused light, and blatant attraction, returned to his gaze. "You look as lovely as ever..."

The Six smiled at the compliment, as she smiled at all his compliments. But it finally hit her, as he reached out to twirl one fingertip around a white-blonde ringlet. Comfort. He had looked at her as if she gave him comfort.

A strange flutter made her smile soften. She supposed she found him comfortable too, for a human. He was her Gaius. Carrying on with the mission, she leaned in to kiss him again.

This time, she—the other one—kept herself hidden. She was still wearing _her_ red dress. She watched. And smirked. Oh, they probably would have fallen in love anyway, enough to start the cycle in motion. But now...now it was more than just love, they felt secure in each other's company.

It might not do them any good; the cycle would be violent to them all. Gaius' angel shrugged. It would be interesting to see how it turned out in any case.


End file.
